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If anyone proved that a team is the sum of its parts this season, it's the Hazleton Area field hockey team. That cohesion led the squad to its best season and highest playoff seeding in school history.

The second-seeded Lady Cougars are set to prove just how much they've earned it as they host No. 3 seed Coughlin today in a District 2 Class AAA semifinal game at 6 p.m. at Harman-Geist Memorial Field.

Hazleton Area finished the regular season 13-4 overall and 10-4 in the Wyoming Valley Conference, including a 1-0 win over Coughlin in September.

Sophomore Kara Sanford provided all of the necessary scoring in the contest, but Hazleton Area head coach Mary Kelly stressed that teamwork has been the key to success.

"Every goal is a team effort. It takes the entire team to get (the ball) in the offensive circle and then the forwards do their work," she said.

"Teamwork set (the Lady Cougars) apart. They've come together for each other; you can see it on and off the field."

Hazleton Area's previous highest seed was fourth, including last season when the Lady Cougars fell 2-0 to Delaware Valley in a quarterfinal contest.

They've reached the semifinals twice before, but Kelly said this year's team feels it earned its No. 2 seed and won't settle for anything less than the championship game.

She said that the experience of making the finals would bring "respect" and "a huge boost" to the program.

"It's an exciting moment for us. This is something that we thought could be a reality as far back as last winter.

"Given our talent and work ethic, this became our goal," Kelly said.

That confidence is on high entering the rematch with Coughlin and the Lady Cougars are poised to strike on both sides of the ball.

"It's gonna be a tough game. We beat them in the final minute (in September) so we're confident the defense can hold them. We also feel our offense is stronger than it was in September," Kelly stated.

Although she stressed that the Lady Cougars' success was a team effort, Kelly did single out three players for their key contributions.

"Kara Sanford is a forward that doesn't only think offense, she's also a very good defender. (Junior center-mid) Selena Garzio does a great job distributing on the attack and does a great job on defense. She set up a lot of plays for us this season. (Senior) Kaitlyn McHugh had eight shutouts. She's one of the top goalkeepers in the conference and gives the defense a lot of confidence."

Hazleton Area's "positive attitude" and belief in each other propelled the team to its record-setting season.

"The players believe in themselves like no other team I've coached," Kelly said.

"They were willing to work. They believed in each other and that we could accomplish this goal."

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